Married!
by liar
Summary: Hermione never thought she would end up being engaged to Draco Malfoy, but when they both are caught in the middle of a wizarding war they have no choice but to work together.
1. Lost Memories

**DISCLAIMER**: Don't own Harry Potter, never said I did. Oh, and I don't own the plot idea of losing one's memory (which could be taken from a lot of movies or TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer to name but one). Nevertheless, I do own the plot of this story with the exceptions mentioned above. Thank you.

**Author's Note**: Hey, hello, welcome back my dear readers and reviewers! Hopefully you'll enjoy this story as much as or even more than "And then we were defeated."

This is the **SEQUEL** to the story "And then we were defeated," if you haven't read the story you might have difficulty to understand the first chapter, but if you ignore those tiny bits and pieces that might not seem logical without some background knowledge, you can live happily ever after.

However, this story is **completely different to what I have ever written before**. It's not a drama, but a **romance** and there will be loads of **humour** in it (hopefully). As this is a writing style totally new to me, **I'd ask you to tell me if it is well written or if (and what!) there is something to approve**. If anybody who is a writer themselves wants to volunteer to give me tips and maybe to have a look at my chapters before I actually post them here, I will be awfully glad and thankful. 

Oh, and I'm not a native speaker, my mother-tongue is German, so please ignore Grammar mistakes or anything else that might sound wrong…if it is too horrible then tell me in your review or feel free to email. [**Sam81@gmx.net**]

Please, do me the favour and **review**, **it means so much to me **and it helps me to write the next chapters. Constructive Criticism is always welcome and very much appreciated and while you're at it why don't you check out some of my other stories? 

***

**MARRIED?!**

Chapter 1 

**Lost Memories**

***

It was an unusually hot summer day in Yorkshire with the sun shinning brightly from the deep blue sky. Tiny little bees zoomed through the air, landing on flowers, which filled the air around them with their intoxicating smells of lavender, poppies, cornflowers and pimpernels. Birds sat high up in the trees chirping and twittering to greet each other and nothing disturbed the peaceful scenery. 

Nothing?

Well, if one took a closer look and went a little down the narrow shortcut leading to the river a few miles from here, one would suddenly find a young couple lying under one of the huge willows growing beside the path. A young man and a girl of approximately the same age – a careful observer would see that they could hardly be older than 18 – lay huddled sleeping in the shadows of the ancient trees. For some reason unknown to us, the handsome blond male was still dressed in his pyjamas and a heavy dark cloak was draped around his shoulders, while the girl was wearing a horribly dirty and torn, but fine and obviously expensive dress. She was clutching tightly the blonde's arm as if never ever to let go of him again and, with a little snore, curled up beside him, moving even closer towards him. 

***

Draco Malfoy was woken by some stray rays of sunlight which had found their way through the branches and leaves above him and seemed to tickle his nose so that he would finally get up to rise and shine himself. Unluckily for the sun, Draco Malfoy didn't even think a split second about the nice weather or his beautiful surroundings. Lazily he opened his eyes and yawning tried to stretch, but something heavy clung to his right side and  wouldn't let him move. He slowly turned to face whatever was there lying next to him, but the sight awaiting him made him scream in horror as he shot into a sitting position. 

***

Hermione, on the other hand, didn't have the luck to be peacefully woken like Draco. In fact, she was quite shocked when a sudden yell of fear and horror brought her rudely back to reality. 

"What?!" she shouted exasperatedly.

"There…" a blonde boy whispered anxiously pointing with a trembling finger at her shoulder. Hermione turned her face in slow motion to peek at her shoulder. 

"A bug? You scare the hell out of me because of a bug?!" she cut in and flipped the bug from her shoulder with an annoyed flick of her hand. She was immensely annoyed. Hermione eyed the blonde curiously and picking some grass out of her hair she eventually asked "Oh, and by the way, who are you anyways?"

Draco looked at her disbelievingly as if this was the stupidest question ever asked.

"I'm…" He stopped. Draco was sure this girl was supposed to know him and he knew her as well, but as he started to protest and tell her so, he suddenly found out that he couldn't remember his name. "I'm…" he made another effort and yet again he couldn't finish his reply. 

"Don't you have a name or is there a reason why you don't want to tell me?" Hermione asked and raised an eyebrow. "And look at what you're wearing." She chuckled.  "How did you get here?" 

"I…I don't know." Stammered Draco for the first time realizing that he was in his pyjamas. Who was this girl that dared to ask him things like that? Gaining back his usual self-confidence he glared at her and decided that the best defence was still to attack. "And who are you? Oh, and while you're at it, would you mind to let go of my sleeve, please? You wrinkle it even more!"

Instantly Hermione let go of Draco and blushing she answered "My name is…is…, well, …I, I think I don't know either." Draco looked at her, his eyes wide and Hermione herself couldn't believe what she had just said. Confused she raised her hand and touched her forehead. "Honestly…I…I can't remember."

Draco snorted. He could feel, that she was familiar to him, but he couldn't put a finger on it. He knew the sound of her voice and the way she tucked loose strands of her hair behind her ear. With a sigh, he got to his feet and brushed the dirt of his clothes. Then he extended a hand to Hermione and after hesitating a second, she took it and he helped her up. 

"You're wearing a ring." He stated as he felt something smooth and cool against his palm. "Are you married or engaged or something?"

Hermione frowned but took a look at her hand and there a wonderful platinum ring greeted her sight. It sparkled in the sunlight and then, all of a sudden, the memories hit her. She saw Draco kneeling in front of her, looking very earnest and slipping the ring on her finger and she could hear him say those words…'Hermione, do you want to marry me?'. The words echoed in her head and she blinked a few times before she realized that Draco stood very close to her, his hands gripping her shoulders gently. He was looking at her with worry in his stormy grey eyes. 

"Are you all right?" he asked her again as he finally saw that her eyes began to focus on him. 

"I think so. And, by the way, I think my name is Hermione. Oh, and it might very well be that we're married, or at least, engaged?" She had hurried to get the words out, not daring to look at him, but fixing her gaze on the green grass below instead. 

"Pardon?" he let go of her and took a step back. He had very well understood what Hermione had said, although it had been a rather blurry mixture of vowels and consonants, but it took him a second to digest the meaning of her words. 

"I think my name is Hermione." She repeated dutifully and more slowly.

"Yeah, I think I got that part." He was nervous and not sure if he could trust, let alone believe this strange woman. His hands were sweaty. Then he looked at his fingers. There was no ring. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not, but as he raised his head and his eyes met hers and he managed to squeeze out "I don't think we're married. I don't wear a ring, you see." he couldn't help but feel a little sad. 

"Oh." Hermione felt uncomfortable. She had no clue where she was, something was obviously wrong with her memory and she made a complete fool of herself. At least, she had found out her name by now and that she was engaged (if not more) to a pretty handsome blonde young man who was horribly afraid of black bugs and who was still wearing pyjamas. The whole situation was surreal. And ridiculous.

"Well, we could be married after all, you see, maybe I just don't wear a ring." Draco hurried to add. Nervously he started pacing around unsure of what else to do.

"Hm. Do you want to stay here or what do you suppose we do next? Pacing around won't help us much, you know." Hermione stated in a bossy sort of voice. 

Draco stopped abruptly. "Well, then what do you suggest we do, Miss-know-it-all?" 

"I mean, we still don't know how we got here, at least I don't know and so far you don't seem to know what's going on either. have you already bothered to search in your pockets for any hints?"

Hell, was he really engaged to such an annoying woman? He grumbled silently, but dug his hands in the pockets of his pyjamas and afterwards into those in his cloak. Within seconds his hands touched the smooth wooden surface of his wand and his body stiffened as tiny bits of memories flooded his mind. He was at Mr. Ollivander's buying his wand and then in a classroom practicing levitating feathers and transfigurating various objects. Someone rather rudely called him Malfoy and then the sugary voice of a girl calling him 'Draco'.

"Hey, what's the happened? Did you see something?" Hermione asked excitedly. 

"I'm a wizard." he mumbled and meeting Hermione's questioning gaze he pulled out his wand to show it to her, he added with a smirk. "Oh, and just to make sure I don't forget about it again: My name is Draco Malfoy."  

Hermione grinned at him. "Might very well be that my name's Malfoy then, too, hm?" 

Draco shrugged. "Maybe." He felt queer being with Hermione. For lovers they acted quite strange around each other, but on the other hand, only a few minutes ago he hadn't even known his own name.

"And is there anything else in your pockets? Money? Food or anything? I'm starving."

"I'm afraid, there's nothing but my wand."

"I see. Well, then what do we do now, Draco?"

"Unless you want to stay here any longer we'd better start getting away from here. I've got the suspicion that we're not here voluntarily, Hermione. Maybe somebody is after us. Have you taken a closer look at yourself? You're bruised all over and you look horrible. And I guess I don't have the habit of leaving home with nothing on but my silk pyjamas and a cloak." he replied moodily.

"Smart ass. Don't you think I've thought that over, too? No need to be so beastly about it. Do you have any idea where we should go now? I have no clue where we are so I can't possible know how to get out of here. Goodness, I can't believe we're engaged." 

Draco stared at her and frowned. Her eyes had changed to an even darker shade of brown and her cheeks were flushed. Draco had to admit that she looked pretty. Hermione wasn't the type of girl he would call beautiful, but she had something that intrigued him and there was definitely more to her than met the eye. He grinned, this could get interesting. "Well, then let's go down there and we'll see what we get out of it, okay?"

Hermione nodded and went ahead, Draco following her closely giving her a once-over from behind. 


	2. The Burrow

**Disclaimer**: 

If I had the copyright,

I needn't write by can light,

Wouldn't live of bread and water, 

Could pay allowances for a daughter. 

But as I don't have a child,

Bear with me and please be mild,

Don't try to sue me for my money,

'cause I don't think that would be funny.

I never said that I owned Harry,

Nor any other thing or fairy

Mentioned in the Rowling's books,

So please be kind: let me off the hooks. 

**Author's note**: Hey everybody, thank you so much for the encouraging reviews! You are great.

Now, let's see…

Fallin' For Felton told me that "queer" should be changed into "weird", because it sounds a little strange. :) Well, I'll do that as soon as I have time, I also spotted some more mistakes that I have to correct, so don't worry if it takes some time until I finally changed that. But thank you. 

Secondly, I'm glad you liked the sudden change of tone and style. I think it is perfectly possible to write a Sequel that differs so much from the precursor, because in this case both characters have lost their memories. They don't know who they are and what they are and that's why I included this little "bug incident". **Draco Malfoy IS a human being and he has feelings and fears and so on. People tend to forget that**. Did you watch the very first HP-movie? There's such a gorgeous scene after Quirrel fainting in the Great Hall (Troll!!!!) and Tom Felton aka Draco sits there at his table and screams at the top of his lunges. 

Well, I kind of forgot what I actually wanted to say…oh yes, don't be too angry with me if both **Draco and Hermione act a little out of character in the beginning**, but hey, as I said: they lost their memories, they don't know they hate each other, they gradually will remember and then be more in character, BUT the question is whether they will still get along (love?) each other even after they found out who they are?

Thirdly, this story will be rather short, not more than 10 chapters unless I really get a grip of myself or I'm really so hooked up writing it that I cannot stop anymore, I think. Nevertheless, the chapters will be longer than those of "And then we were defeated," and hopefully you'll like them. In fact, I have never written chapters with more than 2000 words and this one is nearly going up to 3000.  **Any questions as to what happened to the other characters will be answered in later chapters (to keep you reading) or in a dark, mysterious companion story**. I haven't decided that yet. I just wanted to start something new and different. And so far I haven't read a story with this idea. (correct me if I'm wrong)

By the way, did you ever wonder why Hermione smells like **Vanilla and Honey**? Nobody ever asked me why and I'm so keen on telling you that the cereal I have for breakfast tastes like that and that I'm really really fond of it. Silly, hm? I'm a freak, I know. Oh, and I'm really sorry that my notes are so long. Just skip them, I highlight the important parts anyway…

**Now, flame me baby or send me reviews or do both if you feel up to it**. Oh, and have fun reading. 

***

**MARRIED?!**

**Chapter 2**

**The Burrow**

***

They had been walking for nearly an hour now and civilization was not yet in sight. Hermione sighed heavily and wiped some sweat drops off her forehead. She had already tried to figure out how much she still remembered. Well, she could still walk and talk and she was quite sure that she could write and read, and she had done some sums, but that was about it. Hermione was well aware of the fact that she had parents and that she went to school, however, everything beyond this vague knowledge was a misty blur. And to make things worse there was this horrible engagement thing that bothered her the most. An engagement and, well, marriage in that case, was such an important thing in your life that you couldn't simply forget about it, could you? Throwing a swift glance over her shoulder at the boy walking slightly behind her, she sighed again. Her heart beat fasted every time she looked at him, but she couldn't decide whether this was because her body told her that this guy was the love of her life or whether he simply annoyed her to hell. He didn't seem to worry about anything she noticed and scowled. Draco had been following her all the time, whistling nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. How on earth could he be like that? 

Hermione came abruptly to a halt and Draco stopped both walking and whistling, eying her questioningly. 

"Thank you." Hermione said gruffly, tilting her chin up to get eye contact.

"What for?" replied Draco cocking an eyebrow.

"For stopping whistling. You're not very musical, you see." 

"Oh. All right." Draco managed to answer with a shrug, but he could have said anything at that particular moment. For the first time he took in the faint smell of vanilla and honey and couldn't help but stare at her eyes, which were chocolate brown with little golden dots here and there sparkling in the sunlight. It didn't last but a second, then he snapped out of it, because Hermione had started to boss him around and to increase his torture she had taken a liking to tormenting him with thousands of questions and reproaches.

"Don't you care the least what is going to happen to us, Draco? I can't believe you're so ignorant." 

"Geez, 'mione, cut it out."

"And don't you dare 'moine-ing me. My name is _Hermione_, can't you pronounce it properly?"

Draco simply shook his head. This girl was annoying him to no end and he was supposed to be in love with her? Ridiculous. As soon as he'd remember everything again, he'd have to think this whole marriage thing over if it wasn't too late to back out of it. Stifling a yawn he started to go past Hermione and slowly strolled towards the river lying a little ahead of them.

"Draco! Where are you going? What…"

"I don't know where you're going to Hermione. I'm over there, if you need me." Draco interrupted her and pointed at a little house not far from where they were. With that he started humming a hardly recognizable tune and went off, Hermione trailing behind him defeatedly.

***

Only half an hour later they reached a rather shabby looking house and if Hermione had before doubted only for a second that wizards and witches really existed, she now truly believed in them. Such a crooked house could only be prevented from collapsing by magic. It looked as though it had once been a large pigsty, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several storeys high. Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lop-sided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read "The Burrow". Round the front door lay a jumble of various broken and torn things. All in all the house and its garden looked as if it had been abandoned for quite some time.

Draco purposely walked up to the doorstep, knocked, then tried to turn the handle and the door gave way easily. Hermione gasped. Standing on tip toe she had caught a glimpse of the interiors of the house over Draco's shoulder. They both entered and found themselves in the remains of a devastated living room. A bomb must have exploded. Everywhere lay shattered and broken furniture and a torn sofa was shoved against the back wall. Fragments and pieces of glass covered the dusty and dirty ground.

Draco frowned at what he saw. He knew by instinct that there had been a fight and that obviously the owners of the house had lost the battle and their house, if not even their lives. 

Hermione took a step forward, but Draco grabbed her arm harshly and forced her back to his side. 

"Don't. We don't know if there are any spells or hexes." Hermione nodded and a wince escaped her throat. Instantly Draco released her. "The bruises…I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" he looked at her with concern in his eyes and even after Hermione had insured him that she was all right he didn't take his eyes of her.

"No, you're not all right. I should have thought of that earlier." He muttered and drew her with him outside. 

"Sit down." He commanded and pulled her down so that she had to sit on the doorstep. Hermione tried to protest but he shushed her sitting down beside her and had a closer look at her bruises, cuts and injuries. 

He touched her skin gently, almost caressing her with his cool touch. Hermione shuddered. Being so close to Draco was a strange, tingly feeling and her stomach churned. He looked up and smiled encouragingly at her, his movement making her look straight into his clouded grey eyes. For a second she lost herself in these deep pools and then it hit her again, warmth washed over her and she saw Draco sitting on a tiny bed and she could watch him as he bent forward in slow-motion touching her lips. 

Hermione jumped and blushed furiously. Draco gave her a smirk and then, without any warning he bent forward and kissed her smiling against her lips. She tasted sweet and familiar and so good. He never wanted to end that kiss, but Hermione finally broke away, gasping for oxygen.

"That was…nice." Again he smiled her, a real, warm happy smile that also showed in his eyes and she suddenly realized that they had been holding hands all the time. 

"Mhm." Hermione didn't trust herself to speak right then and there. She looked flushed and felt a little uncomfortable and at the same time she longed for another kiss. Abruptly she got up and her down-to-earth nature took over. 

"Have you checked if we can go in any further? You're the one with the wand, you know. And maybe we can find something useful in there. I'm still starving and something else to wear wouldn't be wrong either."

Draco's smile vanished and was replaced by a rather earnest facial expression as he went inside, Hermione waiting outside for him to allow her to follow him. 

***

Carefully he stepped over a broken grandfather clock, wand at the ready and hoping that he would remember the counter spells in time to defend himself. Spiders and cobwebs hung from the ceiling and he even thought to hear the faint squeak of mice on his way through the living room towards the remainders of what once was the kitchen. It was small and rather cramped. There was a broken wooden table and chairs were strewn all over the place. Drawers and cupboards were opened, cutlery and smashed china lying in heaps on the floor. 

Nothing happened. No spells, no hexes, no curses, no corpses crossed his way. He slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase, which zigzagged its way up through the house. On every landing doors stood ajar and Draco could see that the destruction  hadn't even stopped at what were obviously children's rooms. 

Curiously he climbed two more flights until he reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying "Ronald's Room." Draco stepped in, his head bumping at the surface. Scowling he blinked and was greeted by the sight of an entirely orange room: the bedspread, the walls, even the ceiling had a violent shade of orange. Spell books and torn posters of the Chuddley Canons lay amongst torn and shabby books, clothes and other personal belongings. On the ground right before him lay something that caught Draco's attention. It was a picture of three people. A red-haired boy, a brown haired boy with glasses and a girl. Hermione. Although the frame was broken and the glass shattered the three people smiled and waved happily at Draco. They were clad in school robes bearing a red and golden crest and suddenly Draco felt anger rise inside of him. He grabbed the photograph and stuffed it hastily in one of his pockets, then made his way back downstairs.

***

"Can I come in?" Hermione yelled as soon as she could hear Draco's footsteps coming down the rickety staircase. 

"Yeah. No hexes or anything. But be careful, there's a lot of broken glass on the floor." He shouted back at her and then saw her, her face looking expectantly up at his. "There's nothing to eat or drink, but enough clothes to change into something more decent then pyjamas and dress robes. If you go upstairs, there's a girl's room on the third landing, I'm sure you can find something in there." 

Hermione nodded. "Did you find anything else?" 

Draco hesitated. Should he tell her about the picture? Her eyes were full of hope. 

"No. There was nothing but broken stuff and things. And spiders, if you're fond of them." He said it firmly not looking at her.

"All right. I go get changed and you better do that, too, don't you think?" she gave him a quick smile, then went past him and upstairs. Draco could hear her retreating footsteps and let out a long breath. Why had he lied to her? He couldn't answer this question, but he knew he wouldn't tell her about the picture later, either. Putting his wand away he followed Hermione upstairs and found a nearly clean black robe that didn't fit him perfectly, but well enough for the time being. He was just about to smooth out some of the wrinkles in them as an ear-piercing scream reached him. 

Hermione.

Immediately he bolted down the stairs, his wand in his hand. Panting he reached the room on the third landing from which the scream had come. The door stood ajar and he couldn't believe what he saw. 


	3. Ginny's Wand

**Disclaimer**: Don't own anything but the plot.

**Author's note**: Oh my gosh, you knew that was Ginny's room? Honestly, I had to re-read the entire chapter on the Burrow because I couldn't even remember what Ron's room looked like and you even know that Ginny's room is on the third floor? Amazing. Really, really amazing.

Anyways, **thank you very much for the encouraging reviews**. I love reviews. Never stop to review…reviews are like oxygen. If you stop reviewing you cut me of the air suppliant. 

I'm never quite sure whether the things I write are good or not. And **I truly don't know if something I intend to be funny really is.** So, thanks a lot.

And I'm quite aware of the fact the last cliff-hanger was mean and a bit silly. I simply thought I had to stop because what is going to come is stupid and silly and not the least bit funny and definitely not worth the end of a chapter.

I'm sorry I didn't update earlier and that this chapter is rather short, but yesterday was horrible and I couldn't think of how to go on…but, here we go…

**Warning: The spelling might be really awful**. I couldn't double check it with the Word spell-check and it is so hard to spot the mistakes when all you have got are the words on the screen, and honestly, I didn't have time to print the pages and correct it…so please, bear with me and my errors.

***

**MARRIED?!**

**Chapter 3**

**Ginny's Wand**

***

Draco had been prepared for almost everything. He had expected to see Hermione covered with blood, nearly dead or at least badly injured. He had been flying down the stairs to save her from whatever was attacking her, his heart beating wildly against his ribcage, because the thought that something dangerous was down there with his Hermione was about to drive him crazy.  

However, Draco wasn't the least prepared for the sight greeting him now.

He wasn't sure whether to laugh or not, but he could definitely not take his eyes of Hermione who was right in front of him. She was surrounded by heaps of clothes and old magazines and her legs swinging and dancing, taping and gliding. Frankly spoken, she did look quite ridiculous with her upper body hardly moving and her feet gone out of control. 

"Don't you dare laugh or say a word, Draco Malfoy!" she said threateningly glaring at him.

Draco grinned smugly, then shrugged and turned on his heels to go back upstairs. Hermione shrieked. 

"Draco! You can't just leave me here!" an exasperated Hermione managed to get out while performing difficult looking steps she would have been proud to do in a ballroom or on a similar festive occasion. Now she simply wanted to be able to command her feet on her own free will. 

Draco turned and facing her he replied with a smug smirk "Why not? You seem perfectly all right to me."

"I'm not perfectly all right!" she insisted and then added in a low voice: "You can't leave me here because…because I can't perform the counter course." Her mumbling was barely audible. "I…I can't reach the wand with my feet doing the jitterbug all the time, you see." And with that Hermione pointed at a wand lying in the far corner of the room, while her feet decided that it was now time for tap-dancing for a change.

"And I thought you wouldn't want me saying anything?" 

"Now, come on, Draco, please, I can't stand this any longer." Hermione begged defeated, her face flushed and increasingly sweaty. 

"All right. I wouldn't have left you alone in here for long anyway." He assured her and a swish and a short flick of his wand later Hermione could finally sit down on the ground massaging her feet.

"Thank you." She said faintly, still trying to catch her breathe and rather red in the face.

"You're welcome. Now, would you mind telling me how exactly that happened?" 

"I was searching for something to wear and when I reached out to pull that robe out from under those magazines and stuff I accidentally touched that wand and it went off and kind of backfired, I think."

"A wand can't backfire that easily. You're sure you didn't do anything?" he asked furrowing his brow.

"Well, yes." Came the hesitant reply and Draco knew for sure that she was lying, but for now he would simply pretend to believe her and play along with her silly charade. He watched her intently, but Hermione wouldn't look at him and kept her eyes cast down on the ground. It wasn't of importance anyways; there were other things he needed to take care of.

"Do you think you're a witch, Hermione?" he asked with a frown and with a few long strides he picked up the wand and tossed it to the panting girl sitting amongst outdated "Witch Weekly" magazines and dirty rags and robes.

"Here. I'm pretty sure it's not yours, but you can try and see if you can use it. Do you remember any spells?"

Hermione looked at the wand in her hands and twirled it between her fingers. It looked so familiar. "Nine inches, redwood, unicorn hair." she mumbled, not listening to Draco who was reciting various spells he thought would be easy enough for her to try and perform in the first place. 

The wand was so familiar. She could tell it wasn't hers, but she knew she had seen it before and therefore knew its owner.

"Hermione!" 

She was suddenly aware of the rather annoyed and angry sound of Draco's voice. 

"Huh? What did you say?"

"You didn't listen to a thing I just said, did you? For Merlin's sake, woman! Get a grip!" Draco was about to explode. How could she dare ignore him? 

Hermione just looked at him innocently with big, brown eyes. She didn't give a damn whether he was furious or not. Draco, however, decided it would be more stylish and appropriate to fume in silence. "I'm waiting outside. Hurry up now, I don't want to stay here any longer." He didn't even glance at her when he turned and left to go downstairs.

***

Hermione remained sitting on the floor. The wand in her hand felt so smooth and warm, it nearly seemed to her that it gave her comfort even though she didn't understand why all of a sudden sadness filled her mind and heart.  

Finally she stood up and gathered some of the things she thought might come in handy later. 


	4. Precious Memories?

**Disclaimer: **

If I owned J.K. Rowling's stuff,

I surely would have money enough

To claim that my name's Dagobert Duck.

I could buy houses, horses and cars,

Could even pay for a journey to Mars,

But would never be able to believe my luck.

However, as you all might know,

My budget is constantly running low.

Therefore I can't afford to say 

That I own Harry in any way.

**Author's Note**: Not much to say. Thank you for the reviews. If you're done reading this chapter it would be great if you could post another review…really. :) And please leave your email address if you want me to be able to reply to your questions and comments. 

Special thanks goes to **Stephanie**. She is a wonderful beta-reader. (She had time to correct most of this chapter). The last part of this chapter isn't beta-read yet, but as soon as I get that version I'll post it. Just couldn't let my readers wait any longer. 

***

**Married?!**

**Chapter 4**

Precious Moments? 

***

"Hermione! Will you please move your arse downstairs? You've been keeping me waiting for ages," Draco roared through the open front door, but didn't even bother to listen for Hermione's reply. Meanwhile, he had changed into some tattered looking, old robes he had found in one of the rooms upstairs. He was absolutely sure that this kind of clothing was not even close to what he was used to wearing, but at the moment he didn't have much of choice and robes were at least better than silk pyjamas. Crossing his arms in front of his chest he lazily leaned back against the doorframe.  "For Heaven's sake, what are you doing up there?"  

"So you missed me and couldn't wait to have me back by your side, hm?" Hermione greeted him with a smile as she finally stepped back outside in the radiant sunshine. She was carrying a rather large bundle in her arms and carefully set it down on the ground in front of her. Questioningly, Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

***

_While Draco and Hermione are still busy, let's leave them for a second, because not far away from the Burrow, two people are having a quite interesting conversation. I doubt that you have an invisibility cloak with you or that you know any spells to make yourself invisible, but if we keep quiet and are careful not to make too much noise, I'm sure we can tip-toe near enough to be able to hear what they are actually saying. _

"You're kidding," Harry said, leaning against a nearby tree-trunk for support. He had visibly paled and he wasn't quite sure whether his knees would support him any longer.

"No, I'm not. I tell you, they _are _married. No doubt about it. I heard it with my own ears." Rita Skeeter repeated and eyed Harry anxiously. "I wish I could publish _that_ in the Daily Prophet. I can already imagine the headline: "Pureblood Malfoy marries muggle-born Witch!" And the ring she's got on her finger…I can tell you every woman I know would kill for such a ring." Sighing she looked at her own right hand, which held no jewellery at all and was stained and dirty. Her once carefully manicured finger-nails which had been nearly two inches long and had been painted in a deep crimson, were broken and a disgrace to the entire wizarding world in her own opinion. 

"Rita. It's enough. Spare me the details," Harry interrupted her train of thought, sensing that she drifted off into nostalgia and would soon start to get on his nerves telling tales of "the good old time." "And there's no chance you mistook her for someone else?" 

Rita Skeeter looked insulted. "For the last time. I saw Hermione Granger and she sure as hell was with Draco Malfoy and they are married for heaven's sake." With that she turned on her heels and walked away, leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

Harry still couldn't quite believe what he had heard. He wished Ron could be here with him, but since their last encounter with Voldemort's henchmen he had neither seen nor heard anything from his two best friends. Until today. Slowly his knees gave way and he sat down on the ground. Hermione a traitor? And with Malfoy? That was hilarious. She'd never do something like that. Hermione Granger would never betray him. But…he had thought the same of Dumbledore, hadn't he? And Dumbledore had betrayed them all. Harry buried his face in his arms. His head ached and so did his heart. For four days he had been hoping to get news about the whereabouts of his two best friends, and now he knew exactly where one of them was and would give anything to get rid of that kind of knowledge

***

"It's a tent," Hermione declared proudly and pointed at what to Draco looked more like a bundle of old and dirty rags then a tent. He wasn't sure of what to make of it. 

"A tent," he repeated dully.  

"Yeah," Hermione answered enthusiastically. "You see, something where we can spend the night in, or do you prefer to sleep out in the open?" She completely ignored the sceptical look Draco gave her and pulled out Ginny's wand. "It's not in the best state, but there's nothing we can't fix," and with that she lowered the wand and said "Reparo!" To her own amazement the spell worked and the tent appeared to be less battered. "See? Now come on, I thought it was you who was in such a hurry to get away from here?" 

Hermione didn't even wait for Draco's reply, she simply bent down, picked up the tent and purposely marched away from the house.  Draco silently shook his head, then followed her down the road. This woman slowly but surely drove him crazy with her bossy attitude.

***

The sun was already setting and Hermione and Draco both had the feeling that they sooner or later would die a most painful death because of the lack of food. They hadn't had breakfast, lunch or dinner and it wouldn't take long until their starved bodies would be found by an innocent stroller. They hadn't talked much since they had left the Burrow, both were lost in their own thoughts, trying to remember something about themselves.

"That's it, I refuse to go any further than that," Hermione complained and stopped walking. 

"For once, I agree with you, Hermione," Draco assented and gave her a genuine smile.

Hermione went over to a group of trees and put the tent she had carried with her nearly all day down on the ground. Draco hadn't bothered to offer to carry the tent for her and she had been too proud to ask for his help and to be honest, with a quick "_Reducio_" the bundle had been small enough to fit into one of the pockets in her black robes.   

Draco watched her and the tend from a safe distance. He didn't know what to think of it, yet and he wasn't sure whether it was beneath his dignity to either spend a night in such a _thing_ or to stay outside. 

In the meantime, Hermione had managed to put up the tent. It looked scruffy and shabby and had an ugly, slimy green colour. A little chimney was attached to its side and as Hermione unzipped the opening, Draco was sure he could see some spiders crawl out of the entrance. 

"What are you waiting for?" Hermione shouted and motioned him to come closer, but Draco remained where he was.  "Uh, come on." She walked over to him and gently took his hand in hers and pulled him with her towards the tent and inside it. 

They found themselves in a stuffy, narrow corridor. Three doors, one ahead of them, the others to their left and right, obviously lead to adjoining rooms. Still clutching to Draco's hand Hermione set off to explore their night-quarter. The door to their right concealed an old-fashioned little bathroom, which looked as if it hadn't been used for quite some time judging from the slimy green substance which covered the sink and the bathtub. The opposite door lead to a stifling, but inviting bedroom. Last but not least, there was even a tiny kitchen. The ancient-looking cupboards and shelves were covered with cobwebs, Hermione nevertheless didn't hesitate to open them.

"Look," she exclaimed and reached up to take out a dusty tin, "the shelf life says we can still it eat!"

"Great." Draco sounded rather disgusted. His nose was scrunched up and he refused to touch anything inside the kitchen. 

"Oh, come on. You act like a baby. It's not that bad." And with that she pushed him over to the small kitchen table and forcefully made him sit down on one of the grimy wooden chairs. 

"Ugh." Draco scowled at her, but Hermione was already busy opening the tins and pouring their contents into various pots and pans she had found in the boards as well. In less then 10 minutes she had dinner ready and set a plate in front of Draco. 

"Now, tuck in," she laughed and sitting down beside him she hungrily started to spoon some of the hot stew into her mouth. Reluctantly Draco followed her example. Yes, he was hungry, but was he ready to let himself be poisoned? Finally his hunger succeeded and he surrendered to the delicious smell that rose from his plate.

Draco enjoyed their meal tremendously, he did not only have a full stomach, but he and Hermione had their first real conversation since they had woken next to each other in the morning. They laughed, talked and joked, and he couldn't help but feel comfortable in her company. Yawning, Hermione stretched and leant back in her chair. 

"I don't know what you're up to, but I definitely need a couple of hours sleep. I'm dead tired," she murmured and stifled another yawn. Getting up she picked up her plate and on her way out put it in the sink. Draco followed her every move with his eyes and got up himself. 

"Thank you," he whispered and encircled her waist from behind with his arms. Hermione's body went rigid for a second, but then she relaxed, because, after all, it was just Draco holding her this close.

It was probably the oh so familiar smell of Vanilla and Honey that triggered the memory off that hit him without warning. There she was lying in front of him in her dirty and torn robes and he roughly gabbed her arm and pulled her up. No gently movement. Harsh and full of hate and disgust. He beat her, smacked her hard across her face and he knew and felt that he had enjoyed every single moment.  

Hermione was still in his arms as he pulled away. Draco couldn't look at her, but she just smiled at him, yawned and went towards the bedroom. 

"Hey, uhm," she started, "there's only one bed." She wasn't sure herself whether this was a statement or a question and standing in the doorway she blushed a little. After all, if they were married there shouldn't be a problem with only one bed.

Under different circumstances Draco would have smirked, but right now he only gave her a brief, weak smile. "No problem. You can have the bed. I'm not that tired." He could hear that Hermione softly entered the bedroom and snuggled into the covers.

Something was wrong. Something had to be wrong with his memory. How could he hurt Hermione if she was his wife? He'd never voluntarily hurt the woman he loved, would he? Nervously he ran his fingers through his silver white hair. Did he love her?

He buried his hands in his pockets and accidentally his fingers brushed against something smooth. The picture. Taking it out he had a closer look at it. Again a younger Hermione and the two boys next to her smiled and waved at him cheerily. Maybe he should give the photo to her? Intently he stared at it waiting for another cold wave to wash over him to bring him new old memories. Something that would make him understand what had happened, but nothing would come. 


	5. Revelations

Disclaimer and Author's note:

This is my disclaimer, dear,

I really have to put it here.

I state that nothing here is mine,

Except for the plot, which is so fine

That you _have_ to leave a review, 

Which I hope you'll surely do

Without me reminding you of it.

Besides this story is such a hit

That you can't help but go on reading.

So I shortly will be leading

You to new adventures, twists and turns, 

Where our hero's heart just burns

With grief and sorrow for his love.

I'm so sorry that it took me so long to finish this chapter. I just didn't feel like writing and I didn't know how to go on. I was lost. I still have no clue what will happen in the next chapter (suggestions are always welcome therefore, too) and how the story's going to end. This chapter is not beta-read so far. I just didn't want to make you wait any longer and therefore I'll replace this chapter with the beta-read version as soon as my beta-read gets back to me.

Thank you so much for the reviews you left, they made me try harder to finish this chapter.

I'm also sorry that I can't quite stick to the genre I promised you. It seems as if this story just isn't meant to be humorous.  

Oh, and I know I am  a conceited bastard. :)

***

**Married?!**

**Chapter 5**

**Revelations **

***

He was sitting in the corner of the bedroom, watching her intently. She looked horrible. Her hair was a tangled mess, her face was still bruised and she definitely needed to take a shower.  A faint smile played on his lips. Yes, she did look terrible, but he didn't mind. 

Draco put his chin in his hands, then leaned back against the wall. He had no idea what to make of the situation he, no, they were in. He hated to admit it to himself, but he was scared. Scared and confused by his feelings. 

On the one hand, there was Hermione, who might be his wife, after all he had proposed to her and given her that damn ring, and somehow he really liked her. It felt good to be close to her and to talk to her. She was the only person he could rely on, wasn't she? 

On the other hand, he couldn't get rid of the memories that haunted him. The memories, in which he beat her up and abused her. What did that mean? Why would he hurt Hermione?

Draco Malfoy couldn't even imagine that he would lay as much as a finger on that girl sleeping so innocently in the small bed in front of him. But maybe that just wasn't him. He didn't know what the _real_ Draco Malfoy was like. Or was he the one and only, real Draco Malfoy? Hell, who was this Draco Malfoy anyway? 

There were so many different and even contradicting thoughts on his mind that he just couldn't sort them out. His head hurt with a throbbing, dull pain.  

Groaning he buried his face in his hands until finally exhaustion took over and he fell asleep. 

***

The small bedroom was only illuminated by faint moonlight and at first Hermione didn't know where she was when she woke up in the middle of night, but as soon as she spotted a familiar blonde peacefully snoring in the far corner, the memories of the previous day returned. There he was in tattered old robes, with ruffled hair and dirty blotches in his face and on his clothes. He really needed a bath. Draco looked fragile and surprisingly small and forlorn for a man of his height and stature.  

Hermione chuckled lightly and was reminded of the reason why she had woken up. The bathroom. Right. Swiftly she got out of bed and placed her feet firmly on the ground. 

She tiptoed out of the room and opened the bathroom-door as silently as she could. She shuddered a little as she once again glanced at the greenish slime in the bathtub and the sink and she quickly decided that she would better not examine the toilet too closely. 

The few hours of sleep she had had, had been enough to refresh her and she doubted that she would be able to go back to bed. Deciding that she might as well have a nice hot cup of tea for now she started of towards the kitchen. On a dusty little shelf in the corner of the bathroom she caught sight of  a few outdated newspapers and on her way out she picked them up. 

Several issues of The Daily Prophet were spread out on the kitchen table in front of her. They were at least 10 months old, some even older than that. Soon Hermione forgot about the tea-kettle she had place on the stove and was absorbed in the newspapers. There  were pictures in it of herself and two boys. She could read her own name printed black against the creamy yellow of the paper. Hermione Granger. Granger and not Malfoy. She wasn't married, then. However, the issues were pretty old and the wedding could have taken place in the meantime. There were pictures of Draco, too. Draco and Lucius Malfoy. 

The more she read, the more familiar became the names of her friends. Friends? Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. The Weasleys. Threats and disturbing news that warned of an upcoming war. 

Hermione gulped. The tea-kettle whistled urgently on the stove, the water was boiling, but Hermione was unaware of the background noise. 

*** 

Harry was fuming with anger. How could Hermione do that to him? Tears threatened to spill, but there was no one he could turn to for advice and help. No one to comfort him. No one to help him out of this situation. No one. Not even Ron, who had disappeared after their last battle with Voldemort. God, he only hoped that Ron was still alive. He had lost Hermione to Draco Malfoy, he couldn't afford to lose the only friend he had left.  

***

Hermione looked deathly pale. All colour had drained her face and her hands trembled slightly as she ran blindly through the forest, making her way back to the Burrow. She had to find Harry.  She had to tell him what had happened. What if he still trusted Ron?  She had to warn him no matter what it cost. 

Images kept flooding her mind. Images of her past and her friends. Of Ron and Harry and Ginny. Of her days back at Hogwarts. Her parents. Crookshanks. Summer holidays and Christmas breaks. 

And Malfoy. 

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. Malfoy was still in the tent. She couldn't just leave him there, could she? 

Draco. She could feel the ring on her hand. The ring he had given to her. The way he smiled at her genuinely and joked with her. The way he hit her across her face. The numerous times he had called her a mudblood. 

She felt nauseous and her head was spinning. She had to lean on a nearby tree for support, yet her legs gave way and she sank to the mossy ground.

*** 

The annoying whistling of the tea-kettle eventually woke Draco. A rush of adrenaline sent him hastily scrambling to his feet and it took him a second to place the shrill noise, but his pulse slowed down and he relaxed. 

His gaze fell on the bed Hermione had previously occupied. It was empty, but the sheets were still dishevelled. She had probable gone to make herself a cup of tea.

"Hermione?" he drawled still a little sleepy and staggered towards the kitchen. "For heaven's sake, take the bloody kettle of the stove."

"Hermione?" His voice wavered.

The kitchen was empty except for a mess of old newspapers on the table and the angrily whistling kettle.

Nervously he checked on the bathroom. 

Empty.  No sign of her. 

"If this is a joke, it's not a good one!" he called standing in the small hallway, waiting for her to answer. 

A sickening feeling began to shot in his stomach.  What if something had happened to her? She wouldn't leave voluntarily, would she? 

Without a second thought he stormed out of the tent and scanned his surroundings. No trace of Hermione. But before he could hurry any further he felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him back firmly and turning him around.

"Well, well, if this isn't the famous Draco Malfoy all on his own out here?" a dark man with a deep voice greeted him.

He looked familiar to Draco, but he couldn't quite place him and before he even had the chance to reply, Draco was hit by a stunning spell.


	6. Trust

**Author's note**: I'm really sorry that you had to wait such a long time for this chapter, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to write it and I didn't have much time. Thank Merlin there's a three week Christmas Break. 

In attempt to get on with this story I might  change some things…bear with me and let's see what happens…

**Disclaimer:** I live in a school like Hogwarts. I teach a bunch of really clever kids. I spend 3 out of 4 weekends per month in boarding houses chasing after kids who try to sneak out of their dormitories after hours. My life mirrors the ones Harry Potter and co live like nothing else. But do I sue J.K. Rowling? Listen, I wouldn't dream of hiring a lawyer to sue you, so it would be really nice if you could restrain from suing me either. **None of your plots are mine,** as indicates the possessive pronoun "yours" and **none of your characters belong to me**…I hope that is enough.

***

Married?! 

**Chapter 6**

Trust 

***

She could hear that somebody was talking. She couldn't understand the words, nor could she tell what language it was, but somebody was holding her tightly and definitely talking to her.

"Hermione! For heaven's sake, please, wake up!" There was something urgent in the pleading voice when suddenly the world came back into focus and she found herself looking directly into the eyes of Ginny Weasley. 

"Hermione. Thank Merlin, you're awake. Are you all right? What happened to you? Where have you been? Harry and the others will be dying to see you." The word Harry seemed to register in Hermione's mind and instantly she remembered that she had to warn him before it was too late.

"Ginny, slow down. Do you know where Harry is? I need to talk to him." said Hermione and started getting to her feet with Ginny helping her.

Ginny Weasley frowned at the girl now standing in front of her and who was looking rather solemn, not showing any signs of being happy to be back together with her friends. "Hm. Sure. The camp isn't far from here. Do you think you can walk?" Hermione's silent reply was a little shaky nod with her head and Ginny decided there would be enough time to ask her questions later. For now it was more important to get the two of them back in the safety of the camp.

***

Hermione had thought Harry would give her a warmer welcome than the one she actually received when she finally reached the camp hidden somewhere in the middle of the forest. Ginny had smiled a radiant smile at Harry when she led her to him and both girls had been utterly shocked when Harry greeted them with nothing but a cold stare.

"Ginny, leave us alone," he said, never taking his eyes of Hermione.

"But, I thought –"

"I said leave us alone!" he snapped sharply. Ginny shot a confused glance at Hermione, but almost instantly backed away. "So you finally decided to come back to spy on us, didn't you?" he asked her slowly once Ginny was out of earshot.

"Pardon?" Hermione asked.

"Did you really think we wouldn't find out that you're not longer on our side, Hermione? You're with Malfoy now. What did he do to buy you for Voldemort's side? And I always thought you're not that kind of girl." 

"No, Harry. That's not true. I honestly don't know how I could explain it to you," Hermione said. "I myself don't understand what happened. Harry, please -" 

"I really don't want to hear your apologies, Hermione. I'm not interested in them anymore." He looked at her with obvious hurt in her eyes. She could see in his green eyes that he felt betrayed and hurt by what she had done.

"Harry." Hermione's voice was a mere whisper. For the last thirty minutes she had been trying to make him understand why she had been with Draco Malfoy. She had tried to warn him that he couldn't trust Ron. And Harry simply refused to listen. 

Harry's heart ached. Nervously he ruffled through his hair and didn't quite know what to do. For the past seven years he had trusted Hermione beyond all reason, she had always been there for him and now she was sitting right in front of him telling one lie after the other. Tears were brimming her eyes and for a second he was tempted to kneel down and embrace her, but then his gaze fell on something sparkling on her left hand. The Ring. _His_ Ring. He clenched his fists and his jaw was firmly set.

Hermione followed Harry's eyes and understanding dawned on her. "No, Harry, please, I simply forgot. I don't know why I'm still wearing it," she pleaded trying to slip the ring from her finger, but it was stuck. 

"You can do whatever you want to, Hermione, for all I care. Go back to Malfoy, but never ever come back to me or Ron."

"Harry. I'm not lying. Please, Harry, you must believe me." she pleaded and moved towards him, but he backed away and stared at her silently.  
"Traitor." his voice was void of all emotion as he watched her fruitless attempt to take the ring off, and without further hesitation he turned on his heels and stalked of into the darkness, leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts.

***

In another part of the forest, not too far away from Harry, Hermione and Ginny, Draco Malfoy was still bound by the curse that had hit him a few hours ago and unaware of the hectic bustle that took place all around him. 


	7. Brooding

**Disclaimer**:  I don't own it or anything else in that matter. I don't own anything in the house where I live except for the clothes I'm wearing. I'm not paid, all I get for the work I'm doing is the love and approval from the kids I teach. So if you should decide to sue me…there's nothing (and I mean it) there's absolutely nothing you would get out of it…

**Author's Note**: sorry folks that it takes me so long to update, but there were exams straight after the Christmas holidays and I had to get my Upper 6 through AS-Level retakes and then there were a whole lot of GCSE-mock exams. And please, can anybody explain to me how 12 of my 14 Year 11 (5th form) pupils didn't get anything above a D? 

Whatever. Good thing it was just a mock exam.

Right. Thanks for all the reviews. I'm on 24 people's favourite list and I can't believe it…it's wonderful, it plasters a huge grin on my face every morning when I go and check on the websites and my students really appreciate it when I'm in a good mood. Especially after those appalling exam results. 

The following chapter is a bit pointless, but suddenly I had the most brilliant idea how to go on with the story and now I've got it planned out in my head and I'll try to finish it as soon as possible and with an Exeat weekend to come your chances are that it won't take me too long to post another chapter. 

So, on with the story and keep the reviews coming… J

***

**Married!?**

**Chapter 7**

**Brooding**

***

She hated herself for it. How could she have been so stupid. She felt sick and disgusted and she wanted to scream and punch and shout, but something in her wouldn't let her do it. She breathed and opened her mouth, but no sound would come from her throat and she clenched her fists so tightly that her fingernails left deep white marks in her skin. 

This was awful. She was awful. No wonder Harry let her down. No, she had let Harry down. 

She wanted to cry, so badly, but the tears wouldn't come. She just sat there, feeling miserably and lonely and hating herself. 

She pictured Draco's face and imagined herself punching and kicking it to a bloody pulp. Since when had she changed into such a violent self, Hermione wondered idly for a second, but then the silent rage took over again and swapped away any rational thoughts that usually determined her mind. Things had changed since the war had begun and during the last 48 hours she might have changed even more.  It was all his fault. No, not only his. Ron. Thinking of his name made her heart sting with  pain.  It was Ron's fault as well. She wanted to hurt him. Make him pay for what he did. Make him realize what he had done to all of them and finally, make him change back to his old self. The Ron she loved and trusted and could rely on. 

How she whished herself to be back at Hogwarts. To have a time turner and to be able to switch back to when everything had been all right. When there had been classes and meals and friends and life had been fairly normal. 

Normal. What was normal anyway? She had never had a normal life.

It was to late now anyway. Everything had been messed up. Things couldn't get any worse whatever decision she might make from now on. And with a sigh she got up from the ground and headed away from the clearing. 

Usually she knew what she was doing. Hell, she had her entire life planned in every single detail from the moment on that she had entered Hogwarts, but now nothing seemed to matter anymore. She had no idea what she was going to do; she would have time to think of a plan later.

***

Life could have been wonderful for one Draco Malfoy if those strange events that had decided to happen during the last few weeks hadn't changed his entire view of the world. Now he was just a miserable being with no money, no allies and most important of all, no power. 

In fact, at the moment things didn't look good for Draco at all. This good-for-nothing, pathetic excuse of a wizardy had struck him with a spell that even First years could easily deflect and now he was lying face down in the mud, his limps numb with cold and all he wanted right now was a time turner to take him back to when everything had been all right. When he had been at Hogwarts and not in this horrible forest and his arms and feet still bound by a spell although he wasn't stupefied anymore. Why for heaven's sake had it always to be him?

And that all because of a mudblood. If it hadn't been for her he could have been on the zenith of his power by now. But no, it was always those stupid mudbloods that had to ruin everything. If he had had enough strength in his body left, he would have sworn. Life just was not fair. 

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone repeatedly hissing his name from the bushes a few feet to this right. It wasn't until a little pebble hit him square on the forehead that his mind stopped brooding and his attention focused on the present. 

"About time, Malfoy, I thought you might have been gone for good already." 

Draco quirked an eyebrow and unsuccessfully tried to make out the owner of the voice. 

"What do you want?" he asked suspiciously, but kept his voice down. 

"To get you out of here. But if you don't stop prating around I don't think I'll bother at all."

"I wasn't _prating around_."

"Oh, please. Now listen, can you move?"

"Do I look as if I could move?"

"All right. Why do I bother. Stay here, I come and get you in a few seconds."

"Stay here? I actually thought I might go for a walk, you know…" he drawled, but the rustling of leaves and twigs told him the stranger had already moved out of earshot. 

Minutes passed in which nothing happened and Draco already thought it had been nothing but a cruel trick played on him by his captivators, when he heard "Finite Incantatum!" and his legs and arms started to hurt even more as he could move them on his own free will again. 

"Right then, Malfoy, let's go." Hermione stated brushing a few leaves out of her bushy hair.

He stared at her incredulously for a second and then his gaze fell on the three people behind her, who were lying motionless on the ground. 

"How did you-"

"Knocked them out cold. But they won't be out for long, so we better get going." 

Slowly he got to his feet, eyeing the girl in front of him suspiciously. 

"I won't hurt you, Draco, now move." 

He threw one last glance at the men sprawled on the ground and then, speechless, followed Hermoine who had already started a head. 


	8. Plans

**Disclaimer**: It's got something of a broken record, but here we go again: No, I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that could be connected to J.K. Rowling. I claim the rights of the plot of this story I am writing it, but anything else definitely belongs to her.

**Author's Note**: I keep the updates coming if the reviews keep flooding my mailbox. It's so nice that so may of you still read the story… J

Oh, and it's all right if you point out any mistakes to me…these chapters aren't beta read and I really feel bad about it, but betas simply don't seem to like me…so if my English needs correcting, feel free to tell me, but please (pretty please) put the corrected sentence in your review, otherwise it's really hard for me to check and correct things. Thanks.

***

**Married?!**

**Chapter 8**

**Plans**

***

"Excuse me, but why again did you say I should follow you? I think I didn't quite get the part." Draco had been following her for what seemed to have been ages. He was sick of the branches and twigs scratching his arms and face and the roots he occasionally tripped over and the mud and the cold and he didn't like one second of it. And on top of all that, he was following HER. _Her. _The source of all-evil. He shook his head. How could he have been so naïve as to ever care for her. 

"You're following me, because you've got nowhere else to go." Hermione replied casually over her shoulder and tried to pluck a particularly resistant twig from her hair.  

"You think you're so smart, don't you? You think you're the one who can give orders and others simply have to follow little Miss know-it-all. I was stupid enough to follow you around during the last few days, but that's over now. You know, they told me." He said as if it were a threat.  "Maybe I cannot remember all of it, but I know now that you're nothing but a _mudblood_. You're filth. Not even your dear little Potter wants you anymore." He yelled at her back, chest heaving with anger and rage. 

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks.

"Right then. I'm a mudblood." She said calmly without looking at him. "But you know what? I don't care. There are more important things I have to take care of and whether you help me or not, well, you see, that doesn't really matter. You can either follow me and help me sort things out, or you go back to your dear father and get killed for betraying Voldemort." Hermione turned and looked at him. "They didn't tell you that, did they?"  

Draco didn't know what to say, but Hermione wasn't waiting for her answer, she simply set of walking again. 

It took Draco some time until he could bring himself to go after her. 

*** 

Ginny Weasley stared at Harry incredulously.  "What do you mean with 'she is gone'?"

"She is gone, as in 'she's not here anymore.'" He answered and busied himself polishing the broomstick. 

"She can't just be gone, Harry. What happened? I just found her." Ginny continued helplessly. "Harry?" Her voice was soft. She could sense that something was wrong.  She watched him as he dabbed the cloth into the little pot of polish and applied it on the broom. 

"Hermione isn't one of us anymore, Ginny." Harry stated dryly. "She is with Malfoy now. They are married."

"Harry, no, that's just ridiculous. Hermione would never…and Malfoy would never-"

"She chose her side and it isn't ours. Fine. She's probably been spying for them all the time, so now things might go a little smoother for us and for once we can gain the upper hand. Now, if you don't mind, I'm really busy." He said and gripped the broomstick even harder as he forcefully rubbed on a tiny little speck of dirt.

Ginny looked at him carefully. She had heard what he had said, but it didn't make sense to her. With a sigh, she turned and left. There was nothing she could do right now.

Harry kept polishing his broomstick. At least he still had his Firebolt, one of the few things that still reminded him of happier times in his life. Times, when he and Ron and Hermione had still been friends. If only Ron were here. He's gaze fell on the little pot he was repeatedly dipping the cloth in. It was the polish Hermione had gotten him for Christmas. Hermione. He carefully picked up the pot and examined it for second. Then, with all his might he threw it away and when it hit a tree somewhere in the distance, he could hear it shatter. 

***

Finally he caught up with her and panting a little he managed to ask, "So, what's the plan then?"

A devilish smile tucked at Hermione's lips, but she did her best not to let him see it. She had won. For once, Draco Malfoy had given in and she got her way. Life wasn't that bad after all. 

"Well, obviously Harry thinks that we're married and that I've been spying for Voldemort all the time. It's useless to try and explain things to him he just wouldn't listen. Hopefully, Voldemort and his supporters still think that we're dead…or at least that we have no idea what's going on so ever-"

"Uhm, would you mind giving me the shorter version?" Draco interrupted her. 

Hermione furrowed her brow and shot him an annoyed glance, but continued nonetheless. "Well, we're going to hunt down Ron and then we'll see what Harry does once he knows the truth." 

"That's it? That's your plan? To hunt down a pathetic WEASLEY?"

"Yep, that's the quintessence of it. It sounds easier then it is, though."  Hermione said suppressing the urge to defend Ron. It still hurt to think about him. 

"Well, if you say so. I can't really think of the problems involved catching Weasley." Hermione shrugged. "Well, we'll see." 


End file.
